Apparatus for securing together



June 20, 1950 e. c. RICHARDS APPARATUS FOR SECURING TOGETHER OVERLAPPING PLIES 0F MATERIAL 2 sheets-khan '11 Filed July 15, 1947 I I. r.

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June 20, 1950 Filed July 15, 1947 APPARATUS FOR SECURING TOGE'I'l-IER c. RICHARDS 2,511,944

OVERLAPPING PLIES OF MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a v 7 F/ G. 6. Z

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%%W6 m2zm m Patented June 20, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE APPARATUS: FOR SECURING TOGETHER OVERLA-P-PINGPLIES OF MATERIAL.

George CL Richards, Washington, D. 0., assignor to Robert J. Beard, Washington, D. C.

Application nos 15, 1947, Serial No. 761,032

2' Claims.

1 This invention relates to. an apparatus for; securing, together the overlapping portion of a plurality of, plies. of material.

The art. or making slip covers for iurniture lies in the ability of the worker to achieve a. neat,,

and then pins. the overlapping, portionsv of the.

pieces. or cloth at. intervals, to conform. to. the shape. or the. article at turniture. The. act of. attaching the. edges of. the pieces of cloth is. very dlfiicult, because it is. necessary to pin. same close to the object in. order to. securea proper fitv Accordingly, an. object, or the. invention is to provide an apparatus for pin-stitching. together the. overlapping. portions of. plies of. material or cloth wherein. a substantially U-shaped deforms. able fastener or staple. after penetration oi said. 1

overlapping portions is. subjected to a. squeezing. action to. efiect a straightening thereot.

Another objectv of the invention is. to provide an apparatus for. pinrstitching together the overlapping, portions of. plies of. material or cloth wherein a substantially U-shaped deformable fastener or staple is caused to completely penetrate. the overlapping portions in.- suchmanner that. it. may subsequently be. easily withdrawn,

without damage to said. portions, by application 7 of a. pulling, force at either end thereof.

Aiurther-obiect of the. invention is. to provide an apparatus for pin-stitching together the overlapping: portionsof plies of material: or clothv Other objects and advantages will become ap- 7 parent from the following description.

An embodiment of a specific application of the invention is illustrated byway of example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of. an apparatus ac- I cording to the present invention, showing overlapping, portions of plies of material or cloth in the position of, securing same together.

Figure 2 is a. longitudinal vertical section through the apparatus, the full line indicating such apparatus, in closed position and the dotted line indicating the position of the frame I l of the; upper jaw. for reloading the carriage with a stripof staples.

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section, taken alon the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a similar section, taken along the line 4'4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan of a portion of the anvil of the lower jaw, taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical view, partially in section, illustrating the anvil provided withthe transverse groove and the staple-driver blade respectively engaging the ends and the connecting bight portion of the U-shaped deformable staple after penetration of the overlapping per-- tions of plies of material or cloth, but before the strengthening thereof has been effected.

Figure '7. is a similar view to Figure 6', showing the staple, and staple-driver blade upon completion of the straightening operation.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the follower.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the carriage for supporting an elongated strip of U-shaped deiormable staples.

Figure 10- is a longitudinal vertical section: through the carriage shown in Figure 9, taken along the line I0l0.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of an elongated strip of substantially U-shaped deformable. staples.

Figure 12 is a sectional view taken onthe line l2l2 of Figure 5.

As illustratedin Figure 1, the overlapping portions 3 and 4, of the two plies of material or cloth 5' and 6, respectively, fitted over and around the. surface of an article of furniture T are in the process oi being secured together by means ot a deformable staple 2, said staple being of substantially U shape, as shown in Figure 11'.

The apparatus for applying the deformable staple 2 to the overlapping portions 3. and 4: at the two plies of material or cloth 5 and 6 comprises a pair of jaws A and B mounted for closing movement with respect to each other and between which the overlapping portions 3 and 4 of the two plies of material or cloth and 6 are adapted to be interposed. The jaw A comprises a frame I I having a handle l0 surrounding its exterior surface and secured thereto, said frame being channel-shaped, as shown in Figure 4, and

is pivotally mounted at its rear end to a crosspin l2. The jaw B includes a frame 2| having a handle 22 surrounding its exterior surface and secured thereto, said frame 2| being likewise of channel shape, Figure 4, and is pivotally mounted at its rear end to the cross-pin l2. Mounted in coactin'g relation with the cross-pin l2 and the The jaw A is-provided with a means for sup porting a, strip l8 containin a plurality of substantially U-shaped deformable fasteners or staples 2 arranged in side-by-side relation with their ends projecting toward the other jaw B and in position to penetrate the interposed plies of material upon relative closing movement of the jaws. The staple supporting means includes a longitudinally extending carriage frame or magazine 13, the two sides 36 and 31-0f which are received within the sides of the frame ll of ing relation on the rod I1 is a compression spring I6, the forward end of the spring bearing against the cross-bar I5, and its rear end bearing against the inner surface of the rear end wall of the trackway 26. Such compression spring urges the follower I4 forwardly, that is, in the direction of the stop I 9. As a result, a stripv l8 containing a plurality of substantially U-shaped deformable staples 2 that have been ,placed on the trackway 26 of the carriage frame I3 in front of the follower I4 is urged toward the space 42, the stop' I9 limiting the extreme forward movement of the strip l8 so that the foremost-staple 2 is positioned within the space in direct alignment of the staple-driver blade 8. 0n the confronting faces of the jaws B and A is a means for respectively engaging the projectthe jaw A, the rear end of each of the sides 36 and 31 being provided with an aperture 39 for the reception of the cross-pin l2 therethrough.

The front end of the carriage frame 13 termi-- nates in a cross-bar or stop'l9. Extending forwardly from a point contiguous the rear end of the frame l3 and terminating at a point adjacent to and spaced from theinner surface of the stop I9 is a trackway 26 having diverging sides. The space 42 intermediate the-terminating point of the trackway 26 and the inner surface of the stop l9 are of a width suflicient to accommodate the connecting bight portion of a staple 2 and to permit reciprocatory movementlthere- I through of a staple-driver blade 8 carried by the inner face of the frame ll of the jaw A to be subsequently described. -'Each of the sides 36 and 31 of the carriage frame 13 is provided with a slot 43, the slot being in alignment with the.

space and being for the accommodationof a complemental end of a leg of the U-shaped staple 2. the trackway 26 of the carriage frame i3 is ;a

Mounted for sliding movement upon follower l4, said follower being of a shape similar to the trackway, the legs 21 and 28 thereof being adapted to ride over the converging sides of the trackway. The legs 21 and 28 of the follower 14 are each provided with an aperture 29, through which the arms 3| extend, the bar being mounted for sliding moveand 32 of a cross-bar .15

ment along a longitudinal rod I! carried bythe trackway 26. supported in the complemental end wall of the trackway 26, and the rear end of said rod is supported in the complemental end wall of the trackway. The arms 31 and 32 of the cross-bar The front end of the rod I1 is I5 ride in a pair of longitudinal slots 33 in the sides of the trackway 26. Mounted in surrounding ends and the connecting bight portion of a staple 2..upon relative closing movement of the jaws to effect straightening of the staple follow- I ing penetration thereby of the interposed overlapping portions of the plies of material or cloth, such means embodying an anvil 9 provided with a transverse groove 20 on the inner face of the frame 2| ofthe jaw B and the staple-driver blade 8 on the inner face of the frame ll of the jaw A. The length of the blade 8 and the groove 20 in the anvil 9 is at least equal to the length ofthe staple 2 when in straightened condition. The.

groove 29 of the anvil 9 comprises like end portions formed with aligned horizontal floors and an intermediate downwardly-offset portion providing a cavity 24 for the accommodation therein Q of that part of the plies of material or cloth,

underlying the bight portion of staple 2. Carried by the forward end of the anvil 9 is an adiustable gauge plate 44 for determining within cer- ,-tain limits the point at which the staples are to p be applied to the overlapping portions with re-'.. spect to the article of furniture 1. Gauge plate 44 comprises a plate 46 substantially coextensive: with the front edge ofanvil 9 and a pair of laterally-spaced horizontal legs 41 which underlie the anvil 9. Legs 41 are formed with longitudinal slots 48 therein which slidablyreceive screws 45,";

threaded into theunder surface of anvil 9, By

loosening the screws 45, the plate 46 may be moved from the full line position, Figure 5, where it is seated against the forward edge of anvil 9, to the broken line position which may be any distance H forwardly of such forward edge within the limits of slots 48. Re-tightening of screws 45 secures I gauge plate 44 ina selected forwardly-adjusted position where it will abut furniture article T and space the point of insertion of staples 2 therefrom in a manner readily understood.

In operation of the apparatus of the invention, with the gauge plate44 set at the desired point, the overlapping portions 3 and 4 of the two plies" of material or cloth 5 and 6, respectively, are interposedbetween the jaws A and B with the part of the overlapping portions beyond the point of desired attachment being placed in the cavity 24.

' The operator then applies a squeezing force to the jaws A and B to effect relative closing movement of the jaws. The initial application of such force causes the staple-driver blade 8 to bear. l .,down upon the connecting bight portion of the U- shaped staple and move the ends of the legs of the latter into contact with the interposed overlapping portions and thence penetrate through the latter and into direct engagement with the,

end portions of the transverse groove 29 of the anvil 9, as shown in Figure 6. Continued application of such force causes relative movement of the blade 8 and anvil 9 with respect to each other, thereby resulting in the deformation of the staple into a substantially straightened condition, as shown in Figure 7, whereupon the operator arrests the application of such force. With the cessation of this force, the jaws will move away from each other under the action of the springs 40 and 4|.

Whenever reloading of the trackway 26 with another strip l8 of staples is required,the spring 40 is withdrawn, and the frame I I raised. While the frame I I is raised, the follower I4 is pushed back, and the strip i8 inserted on the trackway 26 in between the follower l4 and the stop I9, whereupon the frame is again lowered and the spring 40 replaced.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for temporarily securing together the overlapping portions of a plurality of plies of material comprising a pair of jaws mounted for closing movement with respect to each other and between which a plurality of plies of material are adapted to be interposed, alongitudinally extending magazine positioned underneath the inner face of one of said jaws and connected thereto for supporting a plurality of substantially U-shaped deformable fasteners arranged in side by side relation with their ends angularly projecting outward toward the other of said jaws, means for feeding the foremost of said fasteners into position for penetrating said interposed plies of material upon relative closing movement of said jaws. a transversely disposed staple driver blade on the inner face of said one jaw at the front end of said magazine, an anvil provided with a transverse groove of a length equal to the length of the fastener in straightened condition, and a recessed portion in said anvil between the ends of the groove of a depth sufficient to receive the plies of the material to be fastened together, whereby when said device is closed the driver blade engages the bight of the fastener and forces the angularly disposed ends outwardly into the groove in the anvil and pins the plies of the material together.

2. Apparatus for temporarily securing together the overlapping portions of a plurality of plies of material comprising a pair of jaws mounted for closing movement with respect to each other and between which a plurality of plies of material are adapted to be interposed, a longitudinally extending magazine positioned underneath the inner face of one of said jaws and connected thereto for supporting a plurality of substantially U- shaped deformable fasteners arranged in side by side'relation with their ends angularly projecting outward toward the other of said jaws, means for feeding the foremost of said fasteners into position for penetrating said interposed plies of material upon relative closing movement of said jaws, a stop on the forward end of said magazine and engageable with the foremost fastener for retaining said fastener in its position for penetration, a transversely disposed staple driver blade on the inner face of said one jaw at the front end of said magazine, an anvil provided with a transverse groove of a length equal to the length of the fastener in straightened condition, and a recessed portion in said anvil between the ends of the groove of a depth sufiicient to receive the plies of the material to be fastened together, whereby when said device is closed the driver blade engages the bight of the fastener and forces the angularly disposed ends outwardly into the groove in the anvil and pins the plies of the material together.

GEORGE C. RICHARDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Pankonin Apr. 28, 1942 

